


The Dragon's Crooked Spine Will Never Straighten Into Line

by ghost_like



Series: VIXX Dragon Age AU [4]
Category: VIXX
Genre: Adventure, Dragon Age Lore, Dragons, Fantasy, Light Angst, M/M, Romance, neo and rabin are there too, some ptsd
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-28
Updated: 2019-06-28
Packaged: 2020-05-28 11:25:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 14,631
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19393156
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ghost_like/pseuds/ghost_like
Summary: Jaehwan is back and Sanghyuk still can't believe it.





	The Dragon's Crooked Spine Will Never Straighten Into Line

**Author's Note:**

> the (not so) thrilling conclusion is finally here!
> 
> again, i'm not 100% satisfied with how this turned out as i'm still struggling a Lot with my writing and second-guessing literally everything i do, but this is the best i could do and i'm very sorry if it's disappointing.
> 
> anyways!  
> the title this time is taken from the lyrics of one of the tavern songs featured in 'dragon age: inquisition', named 'enchanters'. it's very easy to find on youtube if you want to give it a listen. the song itself is about the mage rebellion, but i felt like this line was fitting for hyuken so. yes.
> 
> enjoy!💕

✶

Sanghyuk was aware he was staring, but blinking was not an option - he was afraid that, if he blinked, he would open his eyes to find Jaehwan gone again. So he stared, sitting next to the copper tub as Jaehwan bathed, listening to him hum a familiar song.

Jaehwan was there. Truly there. Not a mirage, not a trick of his mind, not an illusion fueled by his grief.

Jaehwan seemed— normal. There was nothing about him externally that betrayed he was anything other than human - or, well, half-human, half-elf - and yet Sanghyuk had seen his eyes shift earlier, had heard him refer to himself as “we” and not “I”.

It was Jaehwan, his Jaehwan, but it wasn’t  _ just _ him anymore. Jaehwan had become something else, but Sanghyuk just couldn’t  _ see _ the change.

“Is there something on my face or am I just that pretty?” Jaehwan suddenly asked and Sanghyuk jerked out of his trance.

He cleared his throat, scratched the back of his neck awkwardly. “N-no, just— You’re really here.”

“Yes!” Jaehwan chirped and smiled that lopsided smile of his. Sanghyuk’s heart did cartwheels inside his chest. “I’m here and I’m here to stay.”

Sanghyuk lowered his eyes to the floor. “I can hardly believe that. It’s like a dream.”

“It’s not a dream, trust me, I would know,” Jaehwan said and Sanghyuk could hear the eye-roll in his voice. “I understand the feeling, though - I didn’t realize it had been so long. You said it’s been over two years?”

Sanghyuk confirmed the question with a nod of his head, and after a second asked, “Jyani… What happened to you?”

It was a question Sanghyuk had been meaning to ask for a while, since he found Jaehwan in the gardens, but hadn’t built up the courage until that moment. He wasn’t sure he wanted to know, if he was ready to hear it, how he would react to whatever Jaehwan had gone through. He didn’t want to become overemotional, lose his composure, not more than he already had, but having Jaehwan  _ there _ — it was affecting him more than he could have ever expected.

Jaehwan chuckled at the inquiry, his smile turning sad. “That’s the big question, isn’t it?” His joking tone was a heavy contrast to the somber look in his eyes. “When I cast that soul transferring spell— the last thing the dragon did with the strength she had left was to send me to the Fade. That’s where I’ve been all along, just… Adjusting.”

“Adjusting?” Sanghyuk echoed, confusion clear in his voice.

“Yes. I had just combined an Old God’s soul to my own, I had to get used to it, let it settle,” Jaehwan tried to explain, but Sanghyuk could tell Jaehwan was having trouble finding the words to do so. “It was like… Like sleeping, but not really. I think the best way to describe is— A butterfly. I started as a caterpillar, and while I was in the Fade I went through the pupa stage so I could emerge as a fully formed butterfly. Does that make sense?”

“Uh… Sort of?” Sanghyuk replied, not bothering to hide that he was still very confused.

Jaehwan giggled and brought one of his hands out of the water so he could take Sanghyuk’s, lace their fingers together. Sanghyuk wanted to cry. “I’m sorry, I’m not sure how to explain it any better.” He gave Sanghyuk’s hand a squeeze, and Sanghyuk squeezed right back. “There was just a lot for me to process. Memories and experiences that weren’t my own, all the knowledge, all the— power.” Jaehwan frowned, pursed his lips, and looked down at the milky water of the tub - he’d used too much bath salts, as always. A very Jaehwan thing to do. “I think I might have stayed there longer to fully finish adjusting if it wasn’t for the Breach.”

“I never thought I’d say this, considering how much of a mess things have been because of it,” Sanghyuk said, pulling Jaehwan’s hand to his lips so he could press a loving kiss to its back, “but I’m glad the Breach happened, because it brought you back to me.”

“I would have come back to you no matter what,” Jaehwan said and shifted in the tub so he could come closer to Sanghyuk, rest his forehead against his. “I would have ripped the Veil apart myself.”

“Maybe it’s a good thing you didn’t, imagine trying to explain that to people.”

Jaehwan laughed his crystalline laughter and Sanghyuk, unable to contain himself, pressed a long, chaste kiss to his lips.

“I’ve missed you.”

“I’ve missed you too, Hyogi,” Jaehwan replied, the smile on his face warm and loving, but his eyes were full of sadness. “I’m sorry for putting you through so much pain. I’m sorry for not being here to see you crowned. I’m sorry—”

“Don’t,” Sanghyuk interrupted him, kissing him one more time to make sure he wouldn’t continue speaking. “Don’t apologize, I don’t— it won’t change anything, it won’t change the past or everything we’ve been through. I just want you to promise not to do something like this ever again, because I can’t— I can’t go through this once more, I can’t lose you a second time.”

“I won’t,” Jaehwan promised, wrapping his arms around Sanghyuk’s shoulders protectively. Sanghyuk could feel the water seeping through his clothes, the slight discomfort that came with it, but he didn’t care. “I don’t want to miss anything else, I don’t want to be away from you.”

“So stay,” Sanghyuk all but begged, arms wound tight around Jaehwan in turn. Sanghyuk’s shirt sleeves got wet, but it didn’t matter - he would have to change soon anyway.

“I will, I’m not leaving your side ever again,” Jaehwan reiterated his promise, planting a kiss to the top of Sanghyuk’s head before he moved back to be able to face him. “I’m happy to know you kept going, though. Kicked the cultists out, took back your throne, ruled the country.”

Sanghyuk ducked his head and shrugged, dismissive. “I did what I had to do.”

“Hyogi… You could have given up instead of moving forward,” Jaehwan gently said, cupping Sanghyuk’s face to coax him to look up at him. “It’s not just about waking up - it’s about getting out of bed.” He pressed his lips to Sanghyuk’s forehead and, smiling, said, “I’m proud of you.”

Sanghyuk blushed, only the slightest bit, and muttered a ‘thank you’ in response. After taking a deep breath, both to recover from his embarrassment and to get a grip on his emotions, he said, “You should finish your bath, you don’t want to be late to your own Welcome Back Banquet.”

“Oh, yes, and I  _ am _ famished,” Jaehwan agreed, moving towards the center of the tub again to finishing washing himself. “Spending two years in stasis is a sure way to work up an appetite.”

Sanghyuk laughed and got up. He should change his wet clothes too, wear something more appropriate. Something with more color than his all-black mourning outfits - he wouldn’t need those anymore.

“Good thing I asked the cook to make a lot of food, then.”

✶✶✶

Sanghyuk was, in an unusual turn of events, the first one to arrive at the wide dining hall, taking his place at the head of the table without any ceremony. Jaehwan had insisted that he wanted to wait for everyone to arrive - wanted to make a grand entrance, which was something so very Jaehwan to do Sanghyuk felt the dormant butterflies in his stomach begin to stir. 

It was unnerving to leave Jaehwan alone, though; a part of Sanghyuk was afraid that he would disappear again, that he would be waiting at that table alone for hours and he would never come down. It was irrational to think so, he knew that, but there was no controlling it.

Jaehwan had reassured him, had told him that he wouldn’t go anywhere, that he didn’t have to leave and would have the power to come back right away, but Sanghyuk had spent two years of agony without him. The possibility that Jaehwan could slip through his fingers like smoke and vanish again was stronger than he could manage.

Luckily for him, he didn’t have to sit alone at the table for long - Wonshik, always the first to arrive anytime Sanghyuk called for a gathering, came striding into the dining room, Hongbin following right behind him looking like he’d been dragged there by force. It was probably the case.

Wonshik grinned at him in greeting, but Hongbin stopped in his tracks the moment he spotted him, eyes going up and down Sanghyuk’s body.

“You’re not wearing black.”

Wonshik almost tripped over his own feet at Hongbin’s affirmation and looked at Sanghyuk with more attention, the shifts in his expression all too comical - the confusion, the focus, the surprise at the realization.

Sanghyuk sighed. “Yes, I’m not wearing black.” His clothes were of a very deep, very dark shade of blue, but it was still more color than he wore in a while. Of course Hongbin would have noticed it right away, with those keen eyes of his.

“What’s the occasion?” Hongbin asked, not even blinking as he approached the table and took his seat next to Wonshik, eyes never leaving Sanghyuk. It was very unnerving. “A sudden banquet just for us, you’re not in mourning... Something’s going on.”

“Yes, yes, you’re very observant, nothing slips your attention, now can you please stop trying to ruin the surprise?” Sanghyuk requested with a roll of his eyes.

Wonshik suddenly gasped. “Are Taekwoon and Hakyeon back from Rivain?”

Sanghyuk snorted and shook his head. “No, they’re not back from Rivain.”

“Oh,” Wonshik exhaled, shoulders slumping, “shame. I miss them.”

“I think they will be back in a few weeks,” Sanghyuk said, trying to be encouraging - Hakyeon and Taekwoon would most definitely want to come back once they heard of Jaehwan’s return, so it wasn’t a complete lie.

“Ah, good! I want to see Taekwoonie’s new hair in person,” Wonshik commented with a big smile on his face. “It looks good in dreams, must be even better in the real world.”

Hongbin turned to him, eyes narrowed. “Taekwoon visits you in dreams?”

“Uh… Yes? We’re very close.”

“Uh huh.”

Sanghyuk shifted uncomfortably in his seat, thanking the Maker that Hongbin’s death glare wasn’t being directed at him. He was rescued from having to mediate a fight between them with the arrival of their two, and last, other guests - Heeyeon and Junghwan.

“Good evening, Your Majesty!” Heeyeon greeted him first, “And Your Knightship and Spymastership.”

“Just call them by their names,” Junghwan argued, rolling his eyes. “What’s for supper?”

Hongbin arched an eyebrow at them and gestured at the empty table before them. “Air.”

Junghwan pouted at him while Heeyeon laughed, both of them taking their seats directly in front of Hongbin and Wonshik.

Hongbin, again, because he seemed to be in a particularly abrasive mood that evening, was the first one to speak once the two new guests were settled. “So, now that we are all here, will you please tell us what is this about?”

“It’s nothing much,” Sanghyuk replied, making a dismissive little gesture with his hand. “I was just hoping to introduce you all to my new Arcane Advisor.”

A hush fell over the table. Sanghyuk needed to use his entire willpower not to burst into laughter.

“Arcane Advisor?” Junghwan echoed in a small voice. “But— But you said you wouldn’t have one.”

“Yeah, you said you would only ever have an Arcane Advisor if it was— you-know-who,” Wonshik added to Junghwan’s words, making it that much more difficult for Sanghyuk to contain his laughter.

Hongbin, on the other hand, had been staring at Sanghyuk all along, the gears turning in his mind all the while, and he had, obviously, reached a conclusion based on how his eyes widened. Sanghyuk met his gaze, tried communicating to him not to say anything. Hongbin seemed to have understood, for he looked down at his plate right after, complexion pale with shock.

“I did say that,” Sanghyuk replied to Wonshik, smiling blandly.

And as if on cue - which it probably was - came the sound of footsteps from the antechamber behind the dining room, at Sanghyuk’s back. Everyone turned towards the sound, except Sanghyuk who preferred to keep his head down, biting his lips not to laugh.

“Is the food served yet? I’m starving!”

The collective gasps were honestly the funniest thing Sanghyuk had ever heard, and once the surprise was out he had no other reason to keep it in - he laughed. While he laughed, Junghwan, Heeyeon, and Wonshik were all scrambling out of their seats to rush over to Jaehwan, tackle him into a group bear-hug. Hongbin was still on his seat staring from Sanghyuk to Jaehwan with his mouth hanging open, a thousand questions written on his face.

“When—” Hongbin started asking Sanghyuk, since the other four were too busy hugging each other still.

“A couple of hours ago, at sunset,” Sanghyuk informed, a smile lingering on his lips now that he’d gotten the laughing fit out of his system.

“How did he get past the guards? My agents?”

Sanghyuk shrugged, the only way he knew how to answer that question. “You’ll have to ask him later.”

Hongbin huffed an incredulous laugh, shaking his head in disbelief. Sanghyuk took the moment to ring the bell to signal that the food could be served, and the sound worked to break the four hug-monsters out of their tackle-war. One by one, they returned to the table, Junghwan and Heeyeon crying and laughing, and Wonshik looking like he was in a daze. Jaehwan was smiling, wide and bright, as he took his seat next to Sanghyuk at the head of the table - he wouldn’t have let him sit all the way on the other side, that table was  _ long _ . Wide enough for both of them, though.

Next to him. Where he belonged.

Sanghyuk looked over at Jaehwan, took his hand, a stupid smile on his face. Jaehwan squeezed his hands, laced their fingers together.

Yes, exactly where he belonged.

The dinner began well, everyone in high spirits. Jaehwan wanted to hear everything, every single piece of news he’d missed out on during his two-year ‘pupa stage’. Sanghyuk only listened, for the most part; that whole affair was about Jaehwan, not himself. Sanghyuk just laughed at what was being said, sometimes answered a question or added something he thought relevant to the conversation, but mostly he listened.

It was hard to believe any of that was real. It felt as if he was apart from that scene, watching it from the outside. As if it was only a dream, a very vivid one, and that he would wake up at any second. He’d felt like that a lot during the past two years - it tended to happen when he was in chaotic situations or stressful events. His coronation, for example, felt like a dream. Like he wasn’t  _ there _ , like it was happening around him but not to him. A detachment.

He had to keep telling himself  _ this is real, this is real, this is real _ —

Jaehwan covered his hand with his, the one that was holding his fork, and Sanghyuk turned his head to face him.

“Are you alright?” he asked in a whisper. “You’ve been staring at your food.”

Sanghyuk blinked. Then nodded, the motion feeling mechanic. “I’m fine, I got lost in thought.”

“Hm,” Jaehwan hummed, squinting up at him. “Good thoughts?”

“Trying to convince myself you’re really here,” Sanghyuk revealed, no matter how it sounded stupid when he said it out loud.

“Well, I am,” Jaehwan said back and grinned up at him. “I’ll show just how real I am later.” He punctuated the sentence with a sly wink.

Sanghyuk snorted and, once letting go of his fork not to end up poking his eye out, guided Jaehwan’s hand up to his lips to press a kiss to the back of it.

The exchange, short as it was, did help ground him to the moment, make him feel a little more present.

The conversation only veered over to Jaehwan’s—  _ situation _ once they were almost done with the main course, their plates close to being empty, the conversation having reached a tense lull.

“Alright, so… What the hell happened to you?” Hongbin asked, blunt as ever.

Jaehwan sighed. Sanghyuk could tell he was already tired of telling his story, even if he’d only told it once so far. “I’ll only say it once because it’s a lot and I’m very tired, so please pay attention.” Jaehwan looked from one person to the next around the table, a silent warning in his eyes, before he settled down on his chair and began his explanation. “You remember the dragon?”

“The Old God, yes, what about it?” Hongbin urged him.

“Well, you see, the dragon was in this— this stasis state, right?” Jaehwan said, tripping over his words despite how focused he was. “The cultists’ focus on her was so grand that it disturbed her stasis, somehow, it awoke her consciousness. As the Old God of Dreams, she could see their impressions in the Fade, especially Seungho’s.”

“I mean, he was obsessed, so I’m not surprised,” Sanghyuk grumbled, poking the cut of meat on his plate with the tip of his knife. Mentioning Seungho never failed to sour his mood.

“Yes, but what you didn’t know is that his obsession went beyond a simple wish of ‘teaming up’ with the dragon”, Jaehwan said, expression darkening. “The spell I had to cast, the soul transferring one?  _ That _ is what Seungho wanted to do. He wanted to harness the Old God’s powers, he wanted to  _ be _ a god.”

Sanghyuk’s jaw dropped, much like most of the people around the table.

Jaehwan kept going. “As you can see, casting the spell was the only way to keep Seungho from doing it himself. He would have gained a stupid amount of power, probably destroyed half of Thedas in the process.” He paused to take a deep breath. “So I took one for the team.” He concluded with a smile.

There was a beat of silence, all eyes fixed on Jaehwan as they processed that information.

Hongbin was the first to recover. “That doesn’t explain what happened to you.”

“Yeah, are you… Still you?” Wonshik asked, careful. Sanghyuk looked over at Jaehwan expectantly - he wanted to know the answer for that as well.

Jaehwan chuckled. “Yeah, I’m still me,” he thought for a second and added, “with some upgrades.”

“Can you, perhaps, elaborate?” Heeyeon requested.

“Absolutely,” Jaehwan chirped. “First we should probably consider the nature of a soul. A soul is— an essence. It does not have consciousness despite being part of who you are, but it’s also shaped by your experiences.” His explanation was calmer this time, not as clunky as it had been in the beginning. “That’s what I took from the dragon - her essence. Knowledge, memories, emotions, everything that her soul was carrying is now part of me.”

“Including her ‘stupid amount of power’,” Hongbin concluded. Jaehwan beamed at him and nodded, enthusiastic and adorable.

“Yes!”

Hongbin huffed and sat back, all but slumping on his seat, shaking his head to himself.

Jaehwan continued on. “What I’m saying is, while I’m still entirely myself, there is a chance some of my perceptions will change. I know more now, have different insights about many things, memories that aren’t my own, feelings that aren’t my own, but the person I was before is still intact.”

“I’m still confused,” Junghwan said, mouth hanging slightly open. “Are you a god?”

Jaehwan snorted. “No. I have god-like powers, but I’m no god.”

“Are you still a blood mage?” Wonshik asked.

“No, I’m not!” Jaehwan replied. “I  _ could _ use blood magic again if I needed to, but the source of my magic is now the Old God’s, not my blood. I want to avoid going down that road again, I’ve learned my lesson.”

At least that eased Sanghyuk’s mind. A little bit. A teeny tiny bit.

“Are you a dragon?” Heeyeon asked this time.

“No,” Jaehwan said, this time slower, pensive, “but I  _ could _ be.”

Another beat of silence.

“Excuse me, what?” Sanghyuk said, blinking repeatedly to make sure he wasn’t imagining things. “You—  _ could _ be a dragon.”

“Yes! It’s not that weird, though,” Jaehwan said, lowering his gaze back to his meal, “Shapeshifting is not unheard of, despite being frowned upon by the Circle of Magi. It’s existed for thousands of years.”

Heeyeon gasped. “You can  _ shapeshift!?” _

“Teach me! I’ve always wanted to be a swan,” Junghwan said with a wistful look.

Heeyeon barked a loud laugh. “Swan? More like a duck.”

Their conversation devolved rapidly into bickering, Sanghyuk’s mind too preoccupied with the many revelations offered by Jaehwan - he  _ could _ be a dragon. That was— that was so  _ cool _ . His boyfriend could be a dragon. How many people could say they’re dating a dragon? Not many.

He was so turned inwards to his reverie about Jaehwan being a dragon - or being  _ able _ to be a dragon if he so wished, which was closer to the truth - when Wonshik’s voice broke through his trance.

“Hongbin? Are you alright?”

Sanghyuk looked over at Hongbin in time to see him stare at Wonshik as if he’d just asked a very stupid question. “Am I— Of course I’m not alright!” he snapped. “I’m used to being the most dangerous person in the room, and now— Now the most dangerous person in the room is Jaehwan.  _ Jaehwan _ . Sweet little Jaehwan who always had his big nose stuffed in a book,  _ he _ is the most dangerous person here and I cannot fathom how that is possible!”

Jaehwan gave Hongbin a shrug, properly finishing to chew and swallow his food before speaking, a bland smile on his lips. “Next time one of us has to eat a god’s soul to save the world, you’ll be the first choice.”

Hongbin shrieked and threw one of his baked potatoes at Jaehwan.

✶✶✶

Sanghyuk awoke in a startle, heart beating so fast, so hard, he believed it would break through his ribcage. His throat felt tight, as if he was being choked, and his vision was blurry with tears. He thrashed about, patting wildly at the space next to him on the bed, searching for Jaehwan in the dark. There was a certainty, awful, unfathomable, in the very pit of his stomach telling him  _ Jaehwan isn’t here, it was all a dream, you are still all alone and that’s how it’ll always be _ .

So when he felt someone hold his hand, heard Jaehwan’s voice asking what was wrong, Sanghyuk’s only reaction was to break.

It felt like too much, more than his body, his heart, could handle. The fear and the relief chasing one another in endless cycle inside of him, all combined with the remnants of grief that he still carried on his shoulders, the burden of being King, the constant stress, all of it burst out of him beyond his control.

Jaehwan was speaking to him, but he couldn’t hear him over his panic. Jaehwan’s arms were wrapped around him, tight, protective, and he had his head pressed against Jaehwan’s chest, his steady heartbeat drumming rhythmically in his ear. He focused on that, on that single sound, over his own pounding heart and erratic breathing, over his desperate crying.

He felt as if he was drowning; if Jaehwan let go of him, he was certain he would die. So he clung to him, to the point of it being painful both for himself and Jaehwan, because that was all his frantic mind could think of to do.

Sanghyuk had no idea how long it lasted. A few minutes, a couple of hours. Eventually, he began to calm down, his respiration becoming slower, as did his heartbeat, tears still streaming quietly down his cheeks; the ringing in his ears subsided, allowing him to finally hear what Jaehwan was saying.

“I’m here,” he was whispering, “I’m right here.”

That was all Jaehwan was saying, over and over, as if by saying those words enough Sanghyuk would believe them. He did, a little; it wasn’t that easy, though, but for the time being, it was enough.

Finally, Sanghyuk breathed in, a shaky, rattling inhale, and murmured, “I’m sorry.”

“Shh, don’t be,” Jaehwan shushed him, voice gentle unlike he’d ever heard it before. “You have nothing to be sorry about.”

“I didn’t mean to scare you.”

“I’m not the one who was scared,” Jaehwan responded, wiping Sanghyuk’s tears away with his thumbs, watching him with nothing but love in his eyes. “I really did a number on you, didn’t I?”

Sanghyuk didn’t know how to reply to that. He simply pressed his face to Jaehwan’s chest, breathed in his scent, let the warmth of his body envelop him like a cocoon. He was still shaking, his muscles readjusting to inertia after being overworked during his panic, so he tried to will himself to relax.

Jaehwan coaxed Sanghyuk to lie down, still clinging to him, and Sanghyuk let him guide him. He didn’t want to think, not even about which position he should lie down in; Jaehwan took care of that, until Sanghyuk was lying on top of him, head over his chest, his heart. Jaehwan was running his fingers through his hair, the other hand rubbing his back, and Sanghyuk finally began to relax, letting himself melt on top of Jaehwan.

“Focus on my breathing,” Jaehwan instructed him, still in that same gentle tone.

Sanghyuk obeyed, timing the rhythm of his own breathing with Jaehwan’s, deep and slow. Once he found himself more in control of his functions, he asked, “Are you really here?”

“I am, I’m right here, Hyogi,” Jaehwan promised, lips pressed to the top of his head, “I’m not going anywhere you can’t follow, not again.” Jaehwan’s arms closed tighter around him. “If only I’d known the dragon would send me away.”

“There was no other choice,” Sanghyuk said, head level enough that he could at least admit to that single fact. “It was either that or risk Seungho taking all this power, and then I could have lost you for good.”

“But at least I could have warned you,” Jaehwan argued. “I can’t imagine what you must have gone through these past two years, wondering if I was alive, if I would ever be back. That’s my biggest regret, that I couldn’t prepare you for this.”

“I’ve survived, somehow,” Sanghyuk said, pressing a kiss to Jaehwan’s chest, just over his heart, through the thin fabric of his sleeping shirt. “I’ll get better. I just need to get used to having you back, and convince myself you’re not going away again.”

“I feel like I’ve failed you,” Jaehwan confessed. “I won’t again, I’ll never fail you again, not ever.”

“I know you won’t.”

“Here,” Jaehwan said, unwrapping his arms from Sanghyuk to gently tug the chain of the phylactery Sanghyuk carried around his neck, the phial glowing bright red. “Wear it over your clothes from now on, so you can always see that I’m around.”

“That will be hard to explain in court,” Sanghyuk chanced a joke, which did make Jaehwan laugh, even if only a little.

“Then do it when we can’t be next to one another. Even when I excuse myself just to go the toilet, whenever I’m not in your line of sight, put the phylactery over your clothes and the glow of it will keep you grounded.”

“Alright,” Sanghyuk agreed, shifting over Jaehwan so he could push himself up and plant a brief kiss on his lips. “I love you.”

“I love you,” Jaehwan whispered back, nuzzling Sanghyuk’s nose with his own. Then he pulled back and looked up at Sanghyuk, a faint smile on his lips. “Ah, your eyes are brown again.”

“Oh? They changed?”

“Yes, they were completely yellow until a few minutes ago,” he informed and pressed a noisy kiss to Sanghyuk’s forehead. “Now I feel like I can stop worrying, for the time being.”

“I’ll get better,” Sanghyuk promised, settling back down on top of Jaehwan, now set on trying to sleep through whatever was left of the night. “I won’t panic like this anymore, you’ll see.”

✶✶✶

Sanghyuk didn’t get better, at least not during the first couple of weeks of Jaehwan’s return. Some nights were better than others - most of them, Sanghyuk would just wake up in a panic for a moment before Jaehwan calmed him down again, the whole thing taking only a few minutes. Other nights—

Other nights were bad. Very bad.

It was something that frustrated Sanghyuk to no end; he thought having Jaehwan back would put everything back where it belonged, that he would go back to being the person he was before, but he was slowly finding out that— that person didn’t exist anymore. Whoever he was before, the carefree prince with an unrequited crush on his Arcane Advisor and an inclination for violence, that  _ him _ was gone. Now he was King of Nevarra, crowned after a series of events that shaped him into a completely new person - violence had lost its luster, he was the complete opposite of carefree, and his love was no longer unrequited.

He wasn’t prepared to have to deal with the aftermath of his grief for so long, long enough he was beginning to question if he would ever be able to get past it. Everything that happened, from the moment he witnessed his parents’ murder to the day he watched Jaehwan disappear before his eyes, and then the two years that followed, all of it left a mark on his very soul; it wasn’t something he could forget, something he could pretend wasn’t there.

It was something he would have to accept. Something he would have to get used to - being that new person. Fighting it wasn’t doing him any good, trying to make everything be how it once was would never happen. Things changed. Not just himself, but Jaehwan, Hongbin, Wonshik, even Hakyeon and Taekwoon, all of them had been shaped by that time. Jaehwan being back— it didn’t change the past.

He was happy, of course, having Jaehwan by his side again was absolute bliss, but he was slowly learning that it didn’t fix anything. Didn’t fix  _ him _ , didn’t seal back all the cracks in his heart.

Jaehwan wasn’t medicine. He couldn’t make him better, not the way Sanghyuk needed.

Talking to Jaehwan helped, though; having that again, someone he trusted completely, helped. Jaehwan always knew what to say to ease his mind, had a way of soothing him with his words, and if there was nothing he could say, he simply listened, ever patient. Sanghyuk hoped he was a source of comfort for Jaehwan as well - Jaehwan had his own struggles, often complaining about being confused with the memories that belonged to the Old God, feelings that weren’t his own. He also complained of the random bursts of emotion, usually anger, he would feel throughout the day. Sanghyuk could tell that something in Jaehwan had shifted during his time away; there was a melancholy to his gaze now, an underlying sadness to his every action. It had to do with the dragon, he thought - Jaehwan knew more now, felt more. Carried grief that wasn’t his own.

They were making it work, somehow. Helping each other through it.

Jaehwan’s idea of wearing the phylactery outside of his clothes when they weren’t together also helped, the vivid crimson glow always in the corner of his vision somehow; it was grounding, reassuring.

And they were happy enough, Sanghyuk thought. Being the King of Nevarra was never something Sanghyuk truly envisioned for himself, and the two years he’d spent ruling without Jaehwan were a constant struggle; Jaehwan being there now, stepping into his role of Advisor, made it all much easier for everyone involved - including Wonshik and Hongbin, who didn’t have to run around making sure Sanghyuk didn’t forget to eat.

Sanghyuk wasn’t made to rule on his own; he was raised with Jaehwan as his constant companion, the person he turned to for advice always, so it was no surprise that having Jaehwan around again put things back on track.

It was still very boring, though. Sanghyuk hated politics, always had; Jaehwan made it bearable.

It had been a relatively peaceful morning - no petitioners trying to get Sanghyuk to solve their petty squabbles, no crisis around the castle, no endless stacks of documents and reports to look over. It felt like the Castrum was finally functioning the way it should, things slowly falling into place. Sanghyuk suspected it had to do with Jaehwan being back, not because Jaehwan was handling every problem himself, but because his return was a great boost to Sanghyuk’s morale, and Sanghyuk’s sudden burst of energy, in turn, gave a boost to the staff’s morale, like a domino effect of efficiency. That meant they had time for leisure, and whenever that happened, Sanghyuk knew he would find Jaehwan in one of three places: the library, the gardens, or the stables where his bronto was kept.

Sanghyuk found him at the latter, the stables, all the way on the back where the pen he’d ordered custom-built for the bronto was located. He almost burst into laughter the moment he laid eyes on Jaehwan.

“Did you really make Reginald a flower crown?”

“He’s a royal bronto, he deserves a crown,” Jaehwan said from the short stool he was standing on, feeding Reginald some carrots - or  _ trying _ to feed him carrots. Reginald didn’t seem very interested. Jaehwan was determined, though, shaking the carrot in front of his eyes to entice him. “Come on, Reggie, try the carrot! It’s yummy!”

Reginald still didn’t react to it.

“I don’t think Reginald likes carrots, Jyani.”

“How will he know if he doesn’t give it a try?”

Sanghyuk could only laugh - arguing Jaehwan’s point would be useless. “If you’re done trying to expand the reach of Reginald’s palate, we should head back to the castle. Hakyeon and Taekwoon will arrive at any moment.”

“I’ll try giving him sweet potatoes next time,” Jaehwan declared with a sigh, hoping off his stool and dropping the ignored carrot back in the bucket at his feet. “I guess the horses will appreciate the carrots more.”

“A safe assumption.”

“Bye, Reggie, you be good to your caretaker, ok?” Jaehwan said to the bronto, petting his head affectionately. “I’ll be back later.”

Sanghyuk smiled to himself, smitten to the very core, as Jaehwan wrapped his goodbyes and hurried to his side. Sanghyuk held out his hand to hold Jaehwan’s instinctively, naturally, and together they left the stables and began making their way back to the castle. 

After weeks of his return, Jaehwan was already beloved by all the staff in the Castrum and them being seen together, being affectionate to each other, didn’t cause any alarm anymore - Sanghyuk never cared to hide how head over heels he was for Jaehwan, so everyone around them was already used to seeing them being lovey-dovey in public. Jaehwan tried convincing Sanghyuk to at least be discreet about it, but Sanghyuk was King - he could do what he wanted to do and nobody could stop him.

The public opinion of it was evenly split - some of his subjects were supportive or indifferent to his relationship with Jaehwan, some were downright against it. But Jaehwan was known already by the people, had a modicum of respect and trust he’d built over the years during his training to be Sanghyuk’s advisor, so nobody accused him of putting Sanghyuk under a spell. At least, not to their faces.

Sanghyuk suspected Hongbin was the cause for that - the people were afraid of Hongbin catching wind of such rumors and dealing with it himself. The justice of the Royal Spymaster was more feared than that of the King.

It still worked in his favor, so Sanghyuk didn’t care.

Of course, Sanghyuk had a bigger picture in mind - he was already preparing his subjects, getting them used to seeing Jaehwan sharing the throne with Sanghyuk. From the moment Jaehwan had been introduced to the court and the people of Nevarra as his Arcane Advisor, Sanghyuk was being very careful to add consistent, positive reinforcements to all his official statements and speeches regarding how Jaehwan was involved in all his decisions, how he was responsible for many improvements they were working to implement in the country, planting in the people’s minds the seed that would bloom into a Trust-And-Accept-Jaehwan flower.

So when he finally married Jaehwan, very publicly, very officially, nobody would be surprised or make a fuss about it.

He had it all figured out.

As they approached the main stairs of the castle, Sanghyuk spotted Wonshik coming their way from the other side, his new Mabari puppy trudging along by his feet like an adorable mass of lumbering fluff. Sanghyuk couldn’t get over how the puppy’s paws were too big for him, which made him walk awkwardly - and adorably.

“Butt!” Jaehwan exclaimed upon seeing the dog, crouching down on the floor and stretching out his hands to invite the pup over.

The puppy broke into a sprint the moment he saw Jaehwan, jumping into his arms and licking his face all over. Even the animals loved Jaehwan - Sanghyuk couldn’t be more satisfied.

“I still can’t believe you really named your dog ‘Butt’,” Sanghyuk said once Wonshik was close enough.

Wonshik laughed and shrugged. “Hongbin wanted to name him ‘Ripper’ or ‘Shredder’. I think ‘Butt’ suits him better than that.”

“Better than ‘Elbow’,” Jaehwan helpfully added from the ground.

“You might have won the naming battle, but I think Hongbin will win the training war,” Sanghyuk said, walking inside the Castrum when Jaehwan picked up the dog - that even as a puppy was already as big as his torso - and carried him inside. Wonshik followed right behind them.

“I conceded on that long ago,” he admitted. “Binnie will train him better than I can, Butt will be a mighty guard dog in no time.”

“He’s not a mighty guard dog, he’s a baby,” Jaehwan said in a cooing tone to the dog in his arms. “Who’s a good puppy? You are, yes, you are!”

“Jyani, stop spoiling Wonshik’s guard dog!” Sanghyuk said, laughing.

“A good boy!”

“You should get a puppy too,” Wonshik suggested, watching Jaehwan put Butt back on the floor of the Main Hall so they could keep playing.

“Maybe someday,” Sanghyuk said. “I don’t think I can juggle ruling a country, keeping my boyfriend happy,  _ and _ taking care of a puppy.”

“Your boyfriend would be happy with a puppy,” Jaehwan chirped.

“But then my boyfriend would give the puppy all the attention and none to me, I’m not having that.”

“Dating a needy King is so stressful,” Jaehwan said with an affected sigh.

“ _ Needy _ ? You’re calling me  _ needy _ !?”

“Forget I said anything,” Wonshik mumbled, looking from one to the other with some concern - as if Sanghyuk and Jaehwan would really fight over something like that.

Sanghyuk watched Jaehwan play with the dog for a while, and thought that, maybe, just maybe, they should get a puppy. Not a Mabari, of course. Maybe a smaller dog, like one of those tiny breeds the Orleasians were so fond of, the ones the ladies carried around in their laps and that had very loud, shrilly barks.

Sanghyuk could even see it: Jaehwan, prancing around with his dramatic robes, his nose raised and a tiny dog held in his arms. The dog would have its snout raised too.

People do say the dogs come to resemble their owners.

...On second thought, maybe it was best they  _ didn’t _ get a dog.

The sounds of fast-approaching footsteps brought Sanghyuk back from his puppy thoughts, and he turned around to the entrance just in time to see Hongbin coming in with Taekwoon and Hakyeon in tow.

“Jaehwan!” Hakyeon called out as he rushed ahead of Taekwoon and Hongbin, fast as his feet would carry him, only to tackle Jaehwan to the ground the moment he reached him. “You’re really back!”

Jaehwan was laughing, all tangled up with Hakyeon on the floor, Butt hopping around them wanting to join in. “Yes, I am! I’ve missed you, Hakyeonie!” he exclaimed in a cutesy tone, giving Hakyeon one of his bear hugs.

Sanghyuk watched them for a moment, a myriad of emotions bubbling in his chest, before he went to greet Taekwoon who, like him, was standing there, watching the scene with a smile on his face.

Taekwoon, to his surprise, greeted him with a hug. Sanghyuk thought it was odd, considering Taekwoon was usually too awkward to initiate that sort of action, but he could roll with it. “It’s good to see you, Sanghyuk.”

“You too, Taek,” Sanghyuk replied, hugging him back briefly before they both stepped away from each other. Taekwoon had a timid smile on his face, likely for also being aware that it wasn’t usual for him to go around hugging people. Whatever Hakyeon did to him in Rivain to inspire such change, Taekwoon looked happy about it, though.

His cheeks were also chubbier. Good for him, Hakyeon was certainly not letting him starve.

“Taekwoon!” Wonshik said and approached too, getting a hug from Taekwoon as well. Their hug lasted longer, Wonshik obviously much more used to getting hugs than Sanghyuk and also much closer to Taekwoon than himself. “How was Llomerryn?”

“It was great,” Taekwoon answered, chin hooked over Wonshik’s shoulder. “I’m happy to be back, though. I kept getting sunburns.”

Sanghyuk snorted upon hearing those words, while Wonshik only chortled and cooed at Taekwoon. Hongbin, so far standing on the corner, only rolled his eyes at the scene.

Hakyeon and Jaehwan finally seemed to have enough of their hug and got up from the floor, Hakyeon now coming over to Sanghyuk to give him a hug, and he was starting to get dizzy with all the hugging happening in that room. There was one more hug to happen, though.

“Daeguni,” Jaehwan said with a happy sigh, looking at Taekwoon with his eyes sparkling. Sanghyuk would have been jealous once, but… Not anymore.

Jaehwan stretched out his arms to Taekwoon and began approaching him carefully, as if he was expecting Taekwoon to reject his hug, but to Jaehwan’s surprise - and adorable expression of shock - Taekwoon rushed ahead and hugged him first, almost lifting him off the ground. Jaehwan gasped and then burst into a fit of delighted giggles, wrapping his arms and legs around Taekwoon who, somehow, managed to hold Jaehwan up so they wouldn’t fall to the ground.

“Daeguni! You’re hugging me willingly!”

Taekwoon laughed in response, before saying, “I knew you’d be back.”

“I know you knew I’d be back,” Jaehwan replied. Taekwoon set him back down on the floor and Jaehwan proceeded to squish his cheeks. “Look at you, our Dalish Wonder.”

“Stop,” Taekwoon whined, although his expression was still one of joy. Then, turning to Hakyeon, Taekwoon stuck out his tongue at him and said in a smug singsong voice, “Told you so.”

Hakyeon rolled his eyes and scoffed. “Yeah, yeah, you told me so, you said it a thousand times already from the moment we learned Jaehwan was back.”

“And I’ll keep saying it for a while still.”

“Not to get between your old married couple bickering, but let me get between your old married couple bickering before I punch you both in the face,” Hongbin said, and that worked to get Taekwoon and Hakyeon to stop their I-Told-You-So war.

Sanghyuk sighed, mostly to cover up how happy he was to have everyone together again, before he motioned with his hand to indicate the adjacent room. “Come on, you two are probably tired and we have a lot of catching up to do, let’s move this to the parlor.”

Sanghyuk led their group to the said parlor, a cozy room they used whenever important dignitaries came for a visit. The fireplace wasn’t lit, the midsummer air more than warm enough, the soft breeze blowing through the tall open windows refreshing, bringing with it the sweet smell of flowers from the gardens. They settled down easily, Wonshik dropping on an armchair and right away pulling Hongbin unceremoniously down to sit on his lap, Butt laying down by their feet on the floor; Hakyeon and Taekwoon chose to sit on the large couch, Hakyeon on one corner and Taekwoon next to him; Jaehwan plopped down next to Taekwoon, and Sanghyuk, of course, squeezed himself between Jaehwan and the arm of the couch.

The rule that Sanghyuk always had to sit down next to Jaehwan didn’t and would never change.

“So, how was your vacation?” Sanghyuk asked once everyone was properly settled.

“It was amazing,” Hakyeon said. Taekwoon was currently busy being squished by another one of Jaehwan’s bear hugs. “My mother and my sister both fell in love with Taekwoonie, I thought they’d fight me to let him stay there with them instead of bringing him home with me.”

“Would Taekwoon even  _ want _ to stay there, though?” Hongbin asked, amused.

“The beach is nice,” Taekwoon said. Jaehwan was still clinging to him like an octopus. “The sun is too strong, though. And the seagulls are mean, they kept stealing my food.”

“Taekwoon was very close to declaring war against the seagulls,” Hakyeon said, nodding sagely. “Fear and Deceit had to keep scaring them away.”

“Where are Fear and Deceit, by the way?” Sanghyuk asked.

“In the Fade,” Taekwoon replied, shifting on the couch so he could be comfortable while Jaehwan smothered him. “I’ll call them later, otherwise they’ll try to steal Jaehwan’s attention.”

“Maker forbid Taekwoonie not being the center of Jaehwan’s attention,” Hakyeon teased, making Taekwoon duck his head, the tips of his ears flushed. “He talked about you nonstop all the way here, you know?”

“I did  _ not _ .”

“Aw, Daeguni, you  _ do _ love me!” Jaehwan cooed and made kissy noises at Taekwoon, who leaned away from him to try to avoid him.

“Stop.”

“How are things around here?” Hakyeon asked, raising his enough to be heard over Taekwoon and Jaehwan’s squabbling. “Other than Hongbin and Wonshik becoming puppy parents, that is.”

“Same old,” Hongbin replied with a shrug, leaning back against Wonshik who happily wrapped his arms around him to keep him steady. “I’m still looking for Bak, Wonshik is still trying to make soldiers out of his baby-faced recruits, Jaehwan is charming literally everyone in court, and Sanghyuk is whipped for Jaehwan and doesn’t care if everyone sees it.”

“Shush, Binnie,” Hakyeon said, “I think it’s sweet. Sanghyuk shouldn’t have to hide how much he loves Jaehwan.”

“I mean… He  _ should _ , because a King’s private business should remain private,” Hongbin argued, “but I suppose it’s better than having the people talking shit behind his back.”

“I just want my subjects to be aware that I have someone I am head over heels about and that I have every intention of maintaining a serious, lasting relationship with him,” Sanghyuk explained, smiling when Jaehwan looked over at him and winked. “I won’t be bullied into pretending to be someone I’m not for the sake of saving face.”

“That will sure rustle some feathers,” Hakyeon said, giving Sanghyuk one of his parental looks. “I understand wanting to be true to yourself and Jaehwan, but you have to know when to push and when to keep still. You might be king, but that doesn’t mean you can do whatever you want.”

“It’s what I keep telling him,” Jaehwan agreed. “Did you know he wants to have a throne made for me to put next to his on the Great Hall? A  _ throne _ .”

“You’ll be my King Consort, you need your own throne,” Sanghyuk argued. “Or do you want to sit on the floor?”

“I’m your Arcane Advisor, I have a small chair right next to you.”

“A small chair is not a throne.”

“A throne will send the wrong message, we don’t rule together—”

“ _ Yet _ .”

Jaehwan huffed. “You are impossible.”

“Just you wait, when we get married I’m building you the largest, most ridiculous throne Thedas has ever seen just out of spite,” Sanghyuk threatened, half-hearted.

Jaehwan sputtered and squawked, “You— what— you’re king, you shouldn’t marry your Arcane Advisor!”

“I  _ will _ marry my Arcane Advisor and I  _ will _ make him King Consort and we  _ will _ rule this country together,” Sanghyuk stated, firm. “I’m the king and I said so, so it’s settled.”

“You should be putting this amount of effort into convincing the people you’re fit to rule, all you’re doing right now is letting them know how much of a sap you are,” Hongbin said.

“I hate to say it, but… Bean’s right,” Wonshik added. “We’re still not getting many recruits for the guard and the people’s opinion of you is still lukewarm.”

Sanghyuk pouted and leaned against Jaehwan’s side. “I don’t care.”

“You  _ should _ care,” Hongbin said, frowning. “You need your subjects to  _ want _ you to be on the throne, otherwise it leaves you open to usurpers and uprisings.”

“Can we not talk about this?” Sanghyuk said, whiny. “I’d rather hear about Taek’s war against seagulls.”

“We have to talk about this! It’s important!” Hongbin exclaimed, obviously getting frustrated, before he turned to Hakyeon. “Please, talk some sense into him.”

“What do you think I can say to change his mind? He’s stubborn!” Hakyeon replied. “I already have to deal with Taekwoonie being an entire mule, you want Sanghyuk to listen to you, you can do that yourself.”

“I’m not an entire mule,” Taekwoon mumbled.

“No need to fight,” Jaehwan said, voice louder to be heard over the others. “Hyogi will get the people on his side eventually, he just needs—”

Jaehwan stopped talking abruptly and stared straight ahead, expression changing to a thoughtful one. Sanghyuk frowned and poked him on the arm.

“Jyani? What’s wrong?”

“You just need a grand gesture to endear the people to you,” Jaehwan concluded in a lower voice tone, as if he was talking to himself more than Sanghyuk. Then he perked up, smiling bright, and turned to the others. “I have an idea.”

And without adding anything else to explain, Jaehwan wiggled his way off the couch and began marching out of the room while the rest of them simply stared at him, confused.

Jaehwan stopped at the door, looked from one to the other and said, “So? Coming or not?”

Still unsure of what was even going on, the five of them got up and followed Jaehwan out of the parlor, through the Main Hall of the Castrum, and down the stairs to the courtyard. He didn’t take them forward to the gates, but instead towards the more open space of the courtyard, near the sparring ring where Wonshik usually trained his recruits.

“What is the idea, teach Shik’s soldiers how to be cheerleaders?” Hongbin asked, deadpan.

Jaehwan snorted. “No, but I would love to see that.”

“Me too, actually,” Wonshik admitted.

Jaehwan walked all the way to the very center of the courtyard and stopped. “Alright, this should do,” he said after looking around, seemingly measuring it with his eyes. Turning to them once more, he smiled and said, “You guys might want to stand back.”

Sanghyuk and the others exchanged confused glances but did as Jaehwan suggested and took a couple of steps back, away from him.

Jaehwan stared at them for a moment, eyes narrowed as if in deep thought, before he motioned with a hand and said, “A lil’ further back.”

Sanghyuk rolled his eyes and sighed, much like everyone else, but again did as Jaehwan asked and moved further back.

“Is this good enough, My Liege?”

“Yes, that’s fine, thank you,” Jaehwan said, chin raised arrogantly.

“Get on with it,” Hongbin snapped.

“Alright, alright,” Jaehwan complained, and to make Sanghyuk even more confused began stretching his arms over his head as if he was preparing to exercise. “You are about to witness something cool.”

Sanghyuk trusted Jaehwan’s judgment most of the time, but at that particular moment, the mystery was making him a little nervous. Whatever Jaehwan had in mind was obviously something that would affect him physically, if all the stretching was any indication, and Sanghyuk would rather the people of Nevarra hate his guts forever than allow Jaehwan to hurt himself for his sake.

“Jyani, maybe you should—”

“Shush, I need to focus,” Jaehwan snapped at him gently - as much as someone can snap gently, that is - and with a deep breath, he closed his eyes, focusing in that way Sanghyuk was so used to seeing by then.

Jaehwan was about to cast a spell.

Sanghyuk could always feel that telltale shift in the air whenever Jaehwan used his magic - it was different than when he used blood magic, though, the feeling not stifling, but rather charged, like electricity in the air during a thunderstorm. It raised all the hairs on his arms. Made his teeth itch a little, too.

Sanghyuk held his breath, heart beating so fast and so hard it bordered on being painful, and it was with a large amount of horror that he watched as Jaehwan began to—  _ glow _ . As if a fire had been ignited inside of him, as if his body was cracking and light was spilling out. He heard someone gasp next to him, but he had no idea who - Hakyeon, probably - but he, too, gasped when Jaehwan began to change.

He grew larger, expanded in every direction, his hands becoming claws, his skin turning into scales, black and shiny, his spine stretching beyond his body to make way for a long tail, shoulder blades shifting into massive, leathery wings, sharp horns sprouting from his head.

And then Jaehwan was gone and in his place was a High Dragon so huge it took up almost all the space in the courtyard, golden eyes watching them intently. Sanghyuk could recognize this dragon - he’d seen it before, but when he’d seen it, it had been bound, weak, an inch from drying, and now— Now it was strong and beautiful and deadly and Sanghyuk’s legs were shaking with awe and fright.

“By Andraste’s buttcheek pimples,” he heard Hongbin mutter next to him. Sanghyuk echoed that sentiment.

Sanghyuk gulped and took a tentative step forward; he didn’t waste time looking over to see how the others were reacting, no, he was much more concerned with the gigantic dragon standing before them.

“Jyani?” Sanghyuk called, uncertain. The dragon huffed, its breath unbearably hot. “That— That’s you, right?”

The dragon blinked and stretched its neck, only to nudge its snout on Sanghyuk in a way he could only describe as ‘affectionate’, no matter how it almost knocked him over. Sanghyuk laughed, incredulous, and raised a hand to stroke the dragon somewhere between its massive nostrils.

“You’re right,” he said to the dragon - to Jaehwan, “it was  _ really _ cool.”

Jaehwan huffed again, its wings expanding briefly as if he was proud of himself. He probably was.

He heard a scream somewhere up in the battlements and looked towards the source of the sound. Many soldiers and staff had gathered all around them, looking out from the top of battlements, from the windows, from a safe distance in the courtyard itself, all looking frightened and confused. Jaehwan seemed to notice it as well, but his only reaction was to move so he was standing sideways in front of Sanghyuk. He looked at him expectantly, and Sanghyuk just stood there, unsure what he was supposed to do.

“What?” he asked. Jaehwan huffed, this time sounding frustrated.

“I think he wants you to climb on his back,” Taekwoon helpfully suggested, and Jaehwan moved his head in a way that looked like a nod.

“Oh!” Hakyeon exclaimed, as if he’d understood something. “He wants you to ride him! The Dragon King, riding a dragon. A grand gesture to endear the people to you.”

“I mean, who could be more badass than a king with scales who rides a dragon,” Wonshik supplied.

Sanghyuk blinked, completely thrown off kilter, and turned to Jaehwan again. “That’s your idea? Me riding you over the city?”

Jaehwan blinked. Felt like a ‘yes’.

“You could have said that before turning into a non-speaking dragon,” Sanghyuk grumbled, but still did as Jaehwan wanted him to and climbed - rather awkwardly - onto his back, using the protrusions of his wings to hike up. It wasn’t graceful and it took a while, but eventually he was able to settle down on Jaehwan’s back, between two sharp rises of his spine so he would have something to hold on to.

“That looks very uncomfortable,” Hakyeon commented from the ground.

“It’s not like he can saddle a  _ dragon _ ,” Hongbin argued.

Sanghyuk ignored them, more concerned in finding a comfortable position that was also secure enough that he wouldn’t slip and fall to his death from who knows what height. Once he felt he found that position, he said, “Alright, babe, I’m ready.”

He felt Jaehwan move, giant muscles shifting under him as Jaehwan rose from where he’d been crouching before. Sanghyuk held onto the spiked spine in front of him for dear life, yelping when Jaehwan broke into a sprint to catch momentum. Their friends all jumped out of the way by the skin of their teeth, and with a powerful flap of Jaehwan’s wings, they were off, ascending higher and higher into the sky.

Sanghyuk was screaming without noticing he was doing so, sharp gusts of winds hitting his face, the motion of Jaehwan’s wings rocking his body in a way that it felt as if he was folding into himself, but once he got used to it his screams became laughter, and his fear was replaced by a feeling of pure euphoria. Jaehwan rounded the Castrum, flew around its highest tower before he turned towards the city, wings outstretched as they glided through the air.

It was difficult to breathe up there, too much air against his face, but that was his only complaint - as Jaehwan flew lower, so that the people in the city would be able to see Sanghyuk on his back, Sanghyuk’s mind was turned to how incredible it felt to fly, to see the world from that angle, to experience such freedom.

For just that moment, he didn’t care - he didn’t care about being king, didn’t care he had responsibilities, an entire country to take care of, didn’t care about cultists and nightmares of Jaehwan being gone. As Jaehwan flew over the city, the people gasping and screaming and pointing from the ground, Sanghyuk only cared that he was with Jaehwan, that Jaehwan was the one responsible for such a feeling, that they were experiencing it together.

He would cry were he not laughing so hard, the only way he knew how to express all the elation in his chest.

The feeling only expanded when Jaehwan landed atop a building by the market square, where there was an entire crowd gathered, and spread his wings. Sanghyuk looked over at the people, the fear and awe reflected in their expressions, and he felt  _ proud _ , head held high and chest puffed out, and he could only wonder at what was going on through their minds, seeing the king riding a dragon right before their very eyes, Jaehwan’s scales glittering under the sun. When Jaehwan roared, the ground shaking with it, Sanghyuk felt it all through his body, as if he himself was the one roaring, as if they were one.

And then they were flying again, all over Nevarra City, circling towers and gliding over the plaza, and weaving through the streets, leaving only dust in their wake. Jaehwan seemed satisfied after a while and began rising, higher and higher in the sky, as he made his way around to return to the Castrum, a wide arch towards the Minanter River. Sanghyuk shouted as Jaehwan dove from the sky, a shout not of fear but of joy - although he did yelp when Jaehwan changed directions just before they plunged into the water, only the tips of his wings getting wet before they were rising in the air again, finally returning to the castle without any further acrobatics from Jaehwan.

Sanghyuk didn’t want to go back, though. He wanted Jaehwan to keep flying, take them both far away, top the top of a mountain somewhere, where they wouldn’t have to worry about anything, where only the two of them mattered. Jaehwan had a stronger sense of responsibility than Sanghyuk did, though; he took them right back to the castle, flying just over the battlements where Hakyeon, Taekwoon, Hongbin and Wonshik had moved to, along with a large number of the castle’s staff that were watching their flight. Sanghyuk gave them a cheeky wave when they flew by, getting a stream of cheers and whistles in response.

Sanghyuk thought Jaehwan would land back in the courtyard where their flight had started, but Jaehwan took them up to one of the many towers of the castrum, one of the highest ones, and there he finally stopped.

Sanghyuk’s entire body was shaking with adrenaline when he slid off Jaehwan’s back, almost falling to the ground when his feet hit the stone. He willingly sat down, knowing he wouldn’t be able to stand for a while, and from his seat on the floor he watched as the mighty dragon before him shrunk and shifted, morphing back to Jaehwan’s original shape. Jaehwan was panting, also shaking from head to toes like a leaf in a storm, and he stumbled over to Sanghyuk and let himself fall on his lap.

Jaehwan was smiling from ear to ear, eyes shimmering. “That was so much fun!”

Sanghyuk wrapped his arms around Jaehwan tight and pulled him with him to lie down on the floor, his expression a reflection of Jaehwan’s. “It was the best thing ever.” Sanghyuk placed a kiss on the top of Jaehwan’s head. “You can really turn into a dragon, when you said you could I didn’t think it would be like this.”

“I didn’t either, actually,” Jaehwan admitted, rolling over to lie down next to Sanghyuk instead of on top of him, to give them both a chance to catch their breaths. “I knew I could do it, I just hadn’t tried it before.”

“I can’t believe my boyfriend is a dragon,” Sanghyuk said to the blue sky above them, getting a laugh and a light slap from Jaehwan.

“I’m not a dragon, I just can turn into one.”

“My badass dragon boyfriend.”

Jaehwan laughed and hid his face on the crook of Sanghyuk’s neck, and Sanghyuk took the chance to gather him in his arms again, hold him as tight as he could for as long as he could.

Minutes passed, their breathing slowing, the shakes subsiding, and only then Sanghyuk whispered in Jaehwan’s ear, “I love you.”

“I love you too,” Jaehwan replied, “so, so much.”

Sanghyuk nuzzled Jaehwan’s cheek, planted a kiss on it. “Do you think your idea worked?”

“If the people don’t think you’re the coolest king ever after this, I don’t know what else will get them there.”

“You’re probably right,” Sanghyuk agreed, starting to feel a little sluggish after all the excitement. They probably couldn’t sleep up there, though.

As if he’d read his mind, Jaehwan said, “We should probably head down now.”

“Yeah,” Sanghyuk said, and with a heavy sigh he pushed himself up, helping Jaehwan do the same. Once they were back on their feet, Sanghyuk holding Jaehwan’s hands, he gave him a smirk and said, “Just so you know, tonight I’m riding you in a different sense of the word.”

Jaehwan barked a loud laugh and, together, they left the tower to rejoin their friends.

✶✶✶

Jaehwan’s idea started showing results much sooner than any of them had expected, hopeful recruits for the Royal Guard and applicants to serve on the castle pouring in after only a day. There was also a crowd outside only interested in catching a glimpse of the King’s mysterious dragon, but Hongbin easily scared them away by saying the dragon would eat them if they didn’t leave or, if that didn’t work, Hongbin said he would fillet them himself.

That one never failed.

The people of Nevarra were not only impressed by the sight of their King riding in the back of a dragon, but they were also inspired - Nevarra was the land of dragon-hunters, and after believing them nearly extinct, to see their monarch riding one made the people swell with patriotic pride. Sanghyuk could be breaking tradition left and right, as Hongbin usually put it, but riding a  _ dragon _ — there was nothing more Nevarran than that.

Sanghyuk’s only complaint was that, with more people clamoring for his favor, that meant he was busier than ever. His schedule was taken up mostly by reading over documents and sorting through letters from admirers across the country; maybe he should hire someone to handle his fan mail. He would talk to Hongbin about it, whenever Hongbin was available - like himself, Hongbin’s time was entirely booked with running background checks on every new soul that sauntered to the Castrum in search of a position in their staff, now with the added help from Hakyeon. Wonshik, on the other hand, now had a large number of recruits to train, to which Taekwoon was lending his assistance.

Jaehwan helped Sanghyuk where his help was necessary, but Jaehwan had taken upon himself to start sorting through all the documents left behind in Seungho’s old study, something nobody had been brave enough to do yet since, well… Magical traps.

Two weeks later and Jaehwan had unearthed a few interesting items, including letters and a list of names, all in code, that Deceit helpfully deciphered for them - they contained mostly information they already had, but some of the names had somehow managed to fly under Hongbin’s radar. Not anymore, though.

That day was being particularly slow. Sanghyuk had been reading over reports and letters for hours, his eyes stinging from the strain of trying to make sense out of the terrible handwriting in some of them, so much that the letters were starting to swim before him. It didn’t help that he hadn’t slept much that night - it was one of the very bad nights, and he blamed it on the stress brought on by the increase in his responsibilities. Jaehwan was likely tired, too, after spending the better part of the night comforting Sanghyuk, soothing him back to sleep.

The guilt didn’t help ease his stress.

So it was an enormous relief when Jaehwan entered his study without knocking - Jaehwan never knocked - and wandered over to his side, smiling like the cat who caught the canary.

Sanghyuk felt his spirits immediately rise and perked up in his seat, grinning up at Jaehwan. “Have you come to save me?”

Jaehwan snorted as he rounded Sanghyuk’s desk so he could greet him with a chaste kiss on the lips. “You don’t need saving. I came here because I missed you  _ and _ to show you these.”

Jaehwan placed two leather-bound journals on the desk in front of Sanghyuk, not bothering to push all the documents away before doing so. Sanghyuk hummed, intrigued, as he looked at the journals before him.

“What are these?”

“One of them is Seungho’s old journal, all written in code,” Jaehwan said. “The other one… is your father’s journal.”

Sanghyuk halted his every movement upon hearing the words, lungs forgetting how to breathe, heart forgetting how to beat. Jaehwan placed a hand between his shoulder blades, likely for sensing his distress, and began rubbing gentle circles there.

“Where—” Sanghyuk began, but his voice came out weak, sounding more like a croak than a voice. After clearing his throat, he tried again. “Where did you find it?”

“It was hidden inside a box in Seungho’s study,” Jaehwan replied. “There were many protective wards in place, it took me some time to break through them all, even with Junghwanie’s help. It was hidden with his own journal.”

Sanghyuk stared at the two journals in front of him, both unassuming and very similar in appearance - simples brown leather, worn, the pages inside yellowed from time and use. He wouldn’t have been able to guess which was which just from looking at them even if he tried and it bothered him for some irrational, silly reason, that there were any parallels between his father and the sorry bastard who’d plotted his murder, even if in the form of a simple journal.

“Are you alright?” Jaehwan asked when the quiet stretched on for too long. “I can take it back if you—”

“Which one is my father’s?”

Jaehwan stared at him for a moment, searching for something in his expression, before he tapped the journal on Sanghyuk’s right with the tips of his fingers. “This one.” 

Sanghyuk gingerly took the journal Jaehwan pointed out to him, careful as if it would suddenly grow teeth and take a bite at him. “Have you read what’s in here?”

“Some of it,” Jaehwan admitted. “It’s nothing bad. I think— I think you should read it, if you feel up to it.”

Sanghyuk gave him a jerky nod in response, but made no move to open the journal. “Will you stay here?”

“If you want me to.”

“Please?” Sanghyuk asked, glancing up at Jaehwan in search of comfort. Jaehwan smiled at him and nodded, kissing him again and again before he rounded the desk and took a seat right across Sanghyuk.

“I’ll be right here, looking over Seungho’s journal.”

He would have preferred if Jaehwan had sat next to him, but he figured it was for the best; he needed a little space, but he didn’t want to be alone. That was as good a compromise as any.

It took several minutes to find it in him to open the journal, but eventually he did and began reading, slow and careful as if walking on eggshells. He recognized his father’s handwriting right away, the strong, sure strokes, the letters neat and well-drawn. His stomach churned, his heart tightened, and he wanted to close that journal and throw it across the room, as far away from him as possible, but he reined in that urge and continued reading.

Most entries had to do with his father’s concerns regarding the kingdom, private thoughts and musings, his insecurities about not being enough, not doing enough. Sanghyuk had always thought his father to be the strongest, wisest man on the planet, thought he never faltered or doubted himself, but that journal was proving him wrong - his father had the same concerns Sanghyuk himself did. The fear of breaking under the pressure, of leading his subjects astray. Many times, Sanghyuk wondered what it would be like to be able to talk to his father about how it felt to be king, ask him questions, learn if he felt like he did - unprepared, unfit, unwise - and reading those entries— he finally knew the answer.

It made him feel less alone, somehow.

He read on, learning of issues of state his father had dealt with he’d never been privy to, court intrigue that was more fit for a book than reality, disputes he’d settled Sanghyuk didn’t know about. There were notes there, little bits of knowledge his father had scribbled down as reminders, things that were useful for Sanghyuk to know too.

There were entries about his relationship with Sanghyuk’s mother, and those he gladly skipped - he knew their marriage was an arranged one, and that, while they had cared deeply for each other, they were never truly in love. He’d rather not learn the details of their marriage, love or no love.

There were entries about Seungho, their waning friendship and the suspicion that followed. His father knew Seungho was up to no good, only not confronting him for lack of evidence - he’d been looking for evidence around the time of the massacre. He thought he was coming close to a breakthrough.

That certainly explained why Seungho had hidden the journal away, placed it in a box with magic wards in place to avoid it being found; the information there would have been valuable to Seungho, but also dangerous if it’d fallen on the wrong hands.

And there were entries about Sanghyuk himself.

He almost stopped reading entirely, or at least skipped those pages - he was certain he would find lengthy descriptions of all the ways Sanghyuk had let his father down, as a son and as a prince, but what he found was— the complete opposite.

His father had been proud of him. Had written about how it hurt him to be so strict with Sanghyuk, but that it was necessary to teach him to be strong and independent and hardworking. He wrote of how, despite Reaving being beneath a King, in his opinion, that he considered Sanghyuk a skilled fighter, disciplined and diligent. That he thought Sanghyuk would be a good ruler.

Sanghyuk only noticed he was crying when a teardrop fell on the page and smudged the ink, and he decided to stop there before he ruined the entire journal. He sniffled as he closed the journal and left it on the table, leaning back in his chair as if all the strength had been drained out of him. It had, in a way.

Jaehwan had raised his eyes from Seungho’s journal and was watching him with some concern, so Sanghyuk forced himself to smile at him, just to ease his mind a little bit.

“You alright?” Jaehwan asked in a gentle voice.

“Yeah. Surprised and overwhelmed, but I’m alright.”

“Do you want me to bring you some water?”

“No, no, I’m fine,” Sanghyuk declared and took a deep breath, drying his eyes with his sleeve. While he composed himself, he decided to shift the focus to something else. “Have you found anything in Seungho’s journal?”

“A few things,” Jaehwan replied, nodding. “I think this is less a journal and more a collection of noteworthy information. I see a lot of dates here, and I think there are coordinates too, several of them. I’ll need to take this to Hongbin later, he will probably be able to make sense of it.”

“He has Deceit hanging around him like a shadow, I’m sure the two of them will have this entire journal figure out in a couple of hours,” Sanghyuk said. “Think Hongbin’s thin guy is featured in there?”

“I don’t know,” Jaehwan admitted, “but I have a good feeling. I think this is enough to at least point Hongbin in the right direction.”

“Hongbin’s found things with less than this, so I’m inclined to agree.”

Jaehwan hummed and closed the journal. “Now,” he said, smiling at Sanghyuk, “how about we take a break? I think you need a second to process everything you read in there.”

Sanghyuk swallowed, glancing at his father’s journal for a second, before he agreed with a short motion of his head. He got up from his chair slowly, his joints cracking after staying in that position for so long, and it was a relief to stretch his body a bit. “A break sounds great, I was getting hungry.”

“Let’s get some food and eat somewhere quiet,” Jaehwan agreed, getting up from his own chair and taking Seungho’s journal with him. “But first we should drop this with Hongbin so he can figure out where the rest of those pesky cultists are hiding and sic his agents on them.”

“This journal will feel like Wintersend to Hongbin,” Sanghyuk quipped as he began moving towards the exit, reaching out to take Jaehwan’s hand. “He might even give you a hug.”

“Let’s not go that far. Maybe a quick pat on the back,” Jaehwan joked. Then, more serious, he said, “I saw the entries about you in your father’s journal.” Sanghyuk tensed but didn’t stop him. “He loved you very much. Your mother loved you very much as well.”

Sanghyuk smiled to himself, grasping Jaehwan’s hand tight.

“I know,” he murmured. “I love them too.”

✶✶✶

Hongbin did give Jaehwan a pat on the back for finding that journal, and from then on his efforts all turned towards deciphering the codes and sending out agents to check all the coordinates he found in there. It was slow work, unfortunately, since they still had recruits and other hopefuls dropping in every day, but a determined Hongbin was a force to be reckoned with. Besides, Hakyeon was still around, as he and Taekwoon decided to stay at the capital until the business with the cultists had been properly put to rest, so Hongbin wasn’t completely alone - with Hakyeon’s help, as well as Chansik’s and Sunwoo’s, the strain on Hongbin lessened significantly.

It had been a couple of weeks already, the general climate in the kingdom beginning to steady after Sanghyuk’s flight - word had spread far and wide, added to his reputation as the Dragon King of Nevarra, and now he could proudly say that he had the majority of the people’s approval. He would have to keep that approval through his deeds, of course, as flying around on a dragon, while impressive - and badass - wasn’t exactly synonymous to good rulership but, for the time being, that was enough

His nightmares were slowly becoming more scarce, although they happened fairly regularly still; Jaehwan had his own share of nightmares, but they were learning to deal with it, one night at the time. It was getting better. They were getting better.

That afternoon Sanghyuk found Jaehwan in the gardens, sitting at the stone bench by the fountain reading a book, a smile playing on his lips.

He stopped for a moment to stare, to commit that scene to memory - Jaehwan was lovely, had always been lovely, but there was something about him at that particular moment that moved Sanghyuk. The ease of his shoulders, maybe, or the relaxed expression, the understated confidence, the sunbeams on his skin. 

To think he had managed to survive being away from him for so long - how? Jaehwan was a breath of life to him. Foolish, perhaps, to build his life around Jaehwan, base his entire existence on Jaehwan’s ever-changing seasons, especially when he was the ruler of an entire nation. He should remain impartial at times, be pragmatic, decisive, do his best for the sake of his people, but he would, with no hesitation, set fire to Nevarra, to the entirety of Thedas itself, for Jaehwan.

Not that he thought Jaehwan needed it - Jaehwan was more than capable of setting the world aflame all by himself. Sanghyuk would be cheering him on and using the abundance of fire to make smores.

And his thoughts had really devolved while he was standing there.

“Are you going to stare at me all day or are you going to sit down with me?” Jaehwan asked, not lifting his eyes from the book in his hands.

Sanghyuk smiled to himself and finally moved from his spot, taking a seat next to Jaehwan on the bench and lacing an arm around his shoulders. Jaehwan snuggled up against him immediately.

“What are you reading?”

“Some book about Alchemy,” Jaehwan informed, at last tearing his eyes from the book so he could look up at Sanghyuk instead. “It’s very boring.”

“Why are you reading it, then?”

“Not everything we read has to be riveting, you know,” Jaehwan said, closing and putting the book aside so he could turn more towards Sanghyuk, wrap his arms around his waist. “Sometimes we read things to learn.”

“Nerd.”

Jaehwan snorted and slapped him on the shoulder. “Shut up.”

Sanghyuk pressed a kiss to the top of Jaehwan’s head, breathed in his scent of flowers and herbs, basked in his warmth. To think he’d spent two entire years of his life believing he would never be able to be near him again—

“You’re really here,” Sanghyuk murmured into Jaehwan’s hair.

“It’s been  _ months _ and you still don’t believe it?” Jaehwan asked, half in amusement, half in disbelief.

Sanghyuk shrugged, pressing Jaehwan closer to himself. “It just doesn’t feel real sometimes. It’s— too good to be true.”

“But it  _ is  _ true, Hyogi.”

“I know.”

“Do you really?” Jaehwan asked just as he looked up at Sanghyuk, chin resting on his shoulder. Sanghyuk took the chance the new position offered him to kiss the tip of Jaehwan’s nose.

“I do really,” he said, Jaehwan giggling in his arms. He loved him. He loved so much, was so lucky to have him by his side at all, that—

He didn’t want to let him go. Didn’t want to let chance tear them apart again.

“Jyani?”

“Hm?”

“I think it’s time to do that thing you always advised me not to do.”

Jaehwan looked up at him, his eyes narrowed with confusion. “Uh… Pose naked for the Royal Painter?”

“No,” he replied, but then reconsidered. “Although that’s an idea we should revisit later.”

“No, it isn’t.”

“I mean getting married.”

Jaehwan blinked. “Excuse me?”

“Did I stutter?” Sanghyuk asked, teasing, grinning from ear to ear. “I’m asking you to marry me.”

“Hyogi—”

“If you give me a list of all the reasons why we shouldn’t, I will toss you inside that fountain.”

Jaehwan gasped, outraged. “You wouldn’t.”

“Would too.”

“These robes are  _ new _ !”

“They’ll be new and wet soon, don’t try me,” Sanghyuk said, laughing, and pinched Jaehwan’s cheek. “So? What do you say?”

Jaehwan gave him a hard look and huffed, cuddling against him again and looking away towards the fountain. Sanghyuk gave him that moment to gather his thoughts, consider the proposal. Sanghyuk wasn’t worried - if he said no, he would just try again at a later time; Jaehwan would crack eventually.

When he spoke, it was to grumble, “This is the least romantic marriage proposal in history.”

“Should I get on one knee? Give you flowers?”

“A diamond ring, maybe.”

Sanghyuk’s entire face lifted when he smiled. “Is that a yes?” Jaehwan didn’t reply, so Sanghyuk grabbed one of his hands, tugged it repetitively like an annoying child. “Is it?”

Jaehwan exhaled, heavy, tired, but Sanghyuk could see the smile he was trying to suppress. When he at last opened his mouth to reply, however—

“There you are!” Hongbin’s voice broke through their moment and Sanghyuk didn’t try to hide his frustration. Hongbin  _ had _ to know they were in the middle of something. He had to. Hongbin knew  _ everything _ , of course that interruption had been planned.

Jaehwan sighed next to him, sounding just as frustrated Sanghyuk felt. That just made everything worse.

Hongbin looked from one to the other, a smug little smile on his face. “I hope I’m not interrupting anything.”

“You know very well you are,” Sanghyuk said with a huff. “I hope it’s important.”

“Oh, it’s important,” Hongbin replied, smile widening. “We’ve found him.”

Sanghyuk took a moment to realize what Hongbin was referring to. “The thin guy?”

“Yes! We’ve found Bak,” Hongbin said, and it was cute how he looked like he could barely contain his excitement. “And not only him, but a whole cluster of little cultists for us maim.”

“The way you say the word ‘maim’ should be illegal,” Jaehwan said, getting up from the bench. “It rolls off your tongue too easy and it’s scary, please don’t do that anymore.”

“Maim,” Hongbin said, because of course he did, “Slaughter. Torture. Mutilate. Dismember. Mangle.”

“Stop,” Jaehwan whined. Hongbin laughed.

“Jokes aside, we have ‘em. And even if there are other branches, Bak is the only one with knowledge and rank in their circle left. We get him, we cut off the head of this snake and  _ poof _ , cultists no more,” Hongbin said with a dreamy sigh. Sanghyuk could tell he was fantasizing about all the ways he would torture Bak when they found him. “Should I tell Shikkie to get his men ready for an assault?”

Sanghyuk hummed, contemplative, as he also got up from the bench. “A small team,” he finally said, “only a handful of his best men.”

Hongbin arched an eyebrow. “Are you sure?”

“Absolutely. It’ll be overkill to go full-strike. I mean… They were looking for a dragon,” Sanghyuk said, lacing his arms around Jaehwan’s waist and hooking his chin over his shoulder, “so we’ll show them a dragon.”

✶✶✶

The dozen men Wonshik had chosen were already in position, spread around the hills that surrounded the old outpost the cultists were using as a hideout, waiting for the signal to move in. Jaehwan, Hakyeon, Taekwoon, Hongbin, Wonshik, and Sanghyuk himself were standing at the top of the hill that overlooked the entrance of the place, the dilapidated old stone gates, the high walls.

Unlike their previous battles, this time Sanghyuk wasn’t nervous. On the contrary, he was relaxed, confident, eager to be done with it more than anything. Ready to put an end to it all, ready to finally finish what they started.

“I guess this is it,” Hakyeon suddenly said with a wistful sigh, “the last time we fight together.”

“Hopefully,” Taekwoon added.

“Is it really the last time?” Hongbin asked. “I remember Hyukie here offering both of you a position in court, and we all know court life is a war all on its own.”

Hakyeon laughed and shook his head. “No, we’re good. We’re ready to settle down. Start a family, you know.”

“I know they’ve been haunting the Alienage’s orphanage already,” Jaehwan commented. Hakyeon and Taekwoon exchanged a giddy glance, barely containing their smiles.

“How long do you think it’ll take for me to convince Binnie to do the same?” Wonshik suddenly asked, making Hongbin bark a laugh and slap him lightly on the chest.

“We have a dog, bunny, that’s more than enough,” he answered. “Everyone remembers the plan?”

“Jyani burns everything to crisps, then we move in to finish off the stragglers,” Sanghyuk dutifully recited the plan for the thousandth time.

“Everyone except Bak, I want Bak brought to me alive,” Hongbin said.

“For what purpose?” Wonshik asked.

“Torture.”

“That’s so hot.”

“Can we get going with this?” Jaehwan said, whiny, fidgeting where he stood. “I’m starting to get a tummy ache, I always get tummy aches before big battles.”

“I agree, I’m in a bit of a hurry,” Sanghyuk said, grinning smugly at Jaehwan. “After this, you’re marrying me.”

Jaehwan snorted. “I don’t remember saying yes.”

“Yet.”

“You know what,” Jaehwan said, stepping forward as he stretched his arms above his head, rolled his shoulders, preparing to shift, “propose to me again once we’re standing atop the ashes of our enemies surrounded by a ring of fire, that sounds like a romantic enough setting for this.”

“Candlelight, who?” Hakyeon deadpanned.

“Deal,” Sanghyuk told Jaehwan, buzzing with excitement already. “Whenever you’re ready, babe.”

“Oh, please,” Jaehwan said with a chuckle, magical energy crackling around him, making the hairs on Sanghyuk’s arms stand on end, “I’m always ready.”

Sanghyuk wondered what went through the cultists’ minds when they heard Jaehwan’s frightful, earth-shaking roar, when they listened to massive wings flap closer and closer. When the first blast of dragon fire hit their outpost, when their walls began to crumble around them, how they felt when the heat smothered them, the smoke slithered into their lungs. The last thing they’d ever see, feel, hear.

He smiled to himself, watching the flames, Jaehwan in his dragon form soaring across the night sky. It felt good. It felt like completion.

They had come full circle; it ended as it had begun.

With fire.

✶

**Author's Note:**

> and that's the end, my friends
> 
> forsaken was a labor of love (focus on the word 'labor') and it's a little bittersweet to say goodbye, but! i still have many other stories to tell and i'm excited to do just that. it's been a long time working on this, i'm very eager to give something else a shot.
> 
> thank you so much for all your patience and for following this series up to this point, thank you for all the kudos, all the comments, all the nice messages, i'll never say it enough - thank you, really. it means the world to me.💕
> 
> [twitter](https://twitter.com/ghostlike91) | [tumblr](https://ghostlike91.tumblr.com/) | [curious cat](https://curiouscat.me/ghostlike)


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